Start by removing shoots that have bloomed. On your clematis you want to find a node (also called a leave axil bud) which is a joint on the stem where buds begin to branch out. Flowering occurs from late spring or early summer to fall. How To: Pruning Your Clematis Flowers December 10, 2013 / 0 Comments / by Chirs Work Pruning Type 1 Clematis Flowers. Pruning is one garden job that confuses many gardeners. In pruning clematis, your overall goal is to create a plant that will flower strongly each year at various heights from ground level to a comfortable height where you can enjoy and reach the plant for maintenance. If you’re not sure which group your clematis belongs to, let it flower, take note of when it blooms and what kind of flower it produces, and prune accordingly. Type 1 clematis are those that bloom the earliest in your garden or on your patio in containers. Clematis fit into three pruning categories: early flowering, late flowering and large flowering. You’ll want to make your prune just above the node. Viticella and tangutica clematis as well as the herbaceous or non-twining clematis can be classed this way (Group/Type 3 or C). Spring blooming clematis bloom on last year's wood from buds produced during the last growing season. When to prune a clematis? A Quick Guide to Pruning Clematis Groups of Clematis Some bloom on new growth and others on growth from the previous year. across (12-15 cm), adorned with paler pink bars and yellow stamens. Branches are clad with attractive dark green leaves. These should be pruned immediately after blooming, but only if necessary and no later than the end of July in order to give the plant enough time to produce new buds for next year. Take a step-by-step approach to pruning clematis. A compact, early, large-flowered clematis to bloom, Clematis 'Bourbon' produces masses of large, bright raspberry red flowers, up to 5-6 in. These clematis form buds in the previous season that are ready at the first signs of warming … Read more Early-flowering types bloom by early July on stems produced in the previous year, and two types of late-flowering types bloom in mid-summer on current season’s stems. For pruning purposes, clematis are placed into three different groups based on their time of bloom. View the list of clematis varieties to see which type your clematis is. Group 1: Early bloomers. Clematis are split into three groups depending on when they flower, which affects how and when they are pruned. How to Prune Your Clematis. By pruning you control size, keep the plant trained to its armature, and create the space for new growth to replace old wood.